When a “Big Lie” gets legs in Congress

Consumers and the free market are facing a full frontal attack from the airlines. Their minions have swarmed through the House of Representatives casting an untruth that members, both Republican and Democrat, are swallowing hook, line and sinker. It is shameful or discloses gross ignorance.

Nickel and diming — a path to consumer discontent and DOT assistance

The airlines should strongly support the most recent DOT NPRM that calls for more ancillary fee transparency. These proposed DOT rules will improve customer service rankings and ultimately make the skies friendlier for the free market and for the flying public.

Are airlines pulling a bait-and-switch?

I receive regular missives from readers about disappearing prices, most commonly airfares. Technology experts blame the problem on caching, or storing the fares to make them faster to access online. They say that caching sometimes allows a fare to show as available when it’s already purchased. But once you try to book it, the system will return an error and point you to the next available fare, which is usually more expensive.

3 additional rules for packing checked luggage defensively

Not only is packing defensively essential for air travelers due to government and airline liability standards, but due to the amount of electronic gear most air travelers take when away from home, rough treatment of checked and sometimes carry-on luggage, and airline luggage mishandling. Ned Levi discusses packing defensively to counter these problems.